


Bathtime

by hiya_zelda (hiya_girlie)



Series: the best things in life are furry (wolf link shenanigans) [2]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Genre: Borderline crack, F/M, Fluff, Humor, There is nothing serious about this fic, also hyrule castle has running water for plot convenience dont @ me, i have no idea how it got so long lmao, wolf link shenanigans, zelda is buff and she takes nobody’s bs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:35:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25620691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiya_girlie/pseuds/hiya_zelda
Summary: When Zelda’s very important paperwork is interrupted by a set of muddy footprints on the castle’s most expensive carpet, it’s up to her to give the perpetrator a piece of her mind.And also a bath.
Relationships: Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Series: the best things in life are furry (wolf link shenanigans) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1857157
Comments: 3
Kudos: 72





	Bathtime

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MaliaIsBoring](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaliaIsBoring/gifts).



> This one is also for you because that last one was waaaaaay too angsty. So to make up for that here’s some borderline crack, lol. Hope you enjoy!

Zelda leaned back in her chair, idly drumming her nails against her desk as she reviewed the report in front of her. There was a long list of things she would much rather be doing right now than sitting in her office shuffling through her mountain of paperwork; going on a walk through the gardens or taking an hour long bath both came to mind. 

However, her secretary had cornered her after her morning meeting and had insisted that she needed to look through a stack of new documents, claiming that many were time sensitive. At first she’d almost gotten away by vaguely promising to look at them after lunch, then he put his foot down and scolded her for not attending to her duties. It was hard to tell him no when he said it like that.

So she was stuck in her office until she finished every last paper like she’d promised. All in all, she was having a terrible morning.

“Good lord,” she muttered, shaking her head as she pulled out a clean sheet of paper to write her reply to the letter. It was a proposition from a local merchant who’d been petitioning her for a loan to start his own business in the Castle Town. Normally the castle treasurer would have attended to it, but she was getting on in years and Zelda was still looking for a suitable replacement. “Does he really think I’m stupid enough to agree to his contract without reading the fine print?”

She began scribbling out her reply, adopting a courteous but irritated tone that said, in no uncertain terms, that if he wanted the loan he would comply with her terms and hers alone. Halfway through, she paused her writing and decidedly crumpled the paper up. No, if he was going to try and swindle her, who knew what kind of underhanded things he might try on potential customers? She started a new draft, one much more succinct in saying that he was not to ask for a loan again or face charges. 

She finished her reply and set it aside for her secretary to mail, then reached for the next paper. She didn’t even spare a glance at the door when a sharp knock resounded through the room.

“Come in,” she called. A sigh escaped her when she saw how small the handwriting on this document was, it would take forever to read.

A maid scurried in, quickly dipping into a low curtsey when she approached the desk. “My apologies for interrupting your work, Your Majesty,” she said, eyeing Zelda nervously, “but there’s a situation that demands your attention.”

“What kind of a situation?” Zelda asked, perking up. Her mind was already miles away from the report. She would take any opportunity to get away from her work, no matter how small.

“Well,” the maid started. She twiddled with her thumbs for a moment before finishing her statement. “I think it’s best if you just come see for yourself. Unless, of course, you’re busy, then I’m certain we can handle this on our own—“

Zelda raised a hand to stop her, sensing that the maid might launch into a long winded ramble about how terribly sorry she was for bothering the queen with something so menial, a speech Zelda had heard many times before and certainly didn’t need to hear again. “No, I’m not busy,” she said. “So show me this situation.”

The maid nodded, bowing again as Zelda stood. “Of course, Your Majesty.”

Zelda followed the maid out of her office and down the hallway, leaving the administrative wing of the castle behind. The maid walked a few paces ahead of her, continually glancing over her shoulder to see if Zelda was still following and promptly snapping her attention back to what was in front of her when Zelda caught her eye. She must have been a relatively new hire, the staff wasn’t usually so antsy around Zelda.

The maid led Zelda past the dining hall and kitchens towards the eastern entrance of the castle. The eastern gate was a private entrance only used by the staff, guards, and occasionally Zelda herself, leading directly out into Hyrule Field. It had minor problems with animals sneaking in, and there were a handful of children that had played harmless pranks on the guards stationed at the gate, but Zelda couldn’t think of anything major enough that would happen at the gate that would require her immediate attention.

They rounded a corner and Zelda was surprised to find a group of servants huddled together, speaking amongst themselves anxiously. Most were castle staff, wearing simple but sturdy uniforms and carrying everything from laundry baskets to buckets of fresh produce; though she noted that two soldiers, one wearing a lieutenant’s uniform, chatted with one of the older ladies in the group. This must be the situation the maid had gotten her for.

“What’s going on here?” Zelda asked, stepping up to the group. Their conversation paused and they immediately bowed.

The maid who’d been speaking with the guards was the first to speak up. “Oh, Your Majesty, thank goodness you came,” she said. “We were so worried when we found the paw prints that we didn’t know whom else to send for.”

Zelda’s eyes narrowed. “Paw prints?” She asked, a hint of annoyance slipping into her voice. They’d called her all the way over here because of some paw prints?

The maid nodded then turned to the group and motioned for them to move aside. The staff awkwardly parted, moving up against the wall to give Zelda a clear view of the scene.

Sure enough, along the carpet was a trail of muddy paw prints. The mud was still fresh and moist, almost shiny, and the prints were detailed enough that Zelda guessed they had come from some kind of large animal, likely one of the dogs that hung around the castle, or perhaps an especially large cat. The animal would have been frolicking around in the gardens, which would explain the mud, then had come inside to get some food. If they searched the gardens they might find one or two ruined flower beds and more prints, and more prints near the kitchen.

Zelda stared at the prints with her mouth agape in horror. Not only were there many prints, each stamped with a copious amount of mud, but this red carpet was the finest in the castle, aside from the one in her bedchambers; a particular weave that hadn’t been made in decades. She wasn’t one for frivolity, but to have something so expensive destroyed by the careless act of a hungry animal, it was infuriating.

“How long have these been here?” She demanded, glancing at the group.

The staff looked at each other uncertainly before the lieutenant spoke up. “We were heading to the barracks to prepare for our shift just after lunch, Your Majesty,” he said. “We noticed the prints and called for some help to get them cleaned up, but one of the girls thought we should get you first.”

“I know for a fact they weren’t there before lunch,” another servant added firmly. “I’ve been coming up and down this hallway all morning and I didn’t see them once.

“We had no idea where they came from,” the lieutenant continued, rubbing his neck and glancing at the other soldier. “After all we try to keep a close eye on all the animals that wander through the castle, and none of them could have gotten into the flower beds without any of the guards stopping them, so the paw prints couldn’t have come from them.”

“But it could also mean there’s a large, unidentified animal on the prowl through the castle,” the other soldier said with a frown. “Which is dangerous. But again, us guards are very diligent in keeping out anything suspicious, animals included, so how could something so big have gotten past us?”

“How unusual,” Zelda murmured, carefully approaching the mess as she pondered on the new information. The staff gave her space but watched intently while she held her skirt tightly with one hand to keep it out of the mud and bent down to closely examine the prints. 

She didn’t know much about animals, but she could tell her earlier guess that the paw prints had come from a dog or cat was way off. The prints were much larger than anything a cat or even a dog could make. From top to bottom, they were only a few inches shorter than her entire hand, with sharper points for the claws. She went through her mental list of animals, wondering what in Hyrule could have made such a mess. Then it dawned on her.

She stood, turning to the staff. “Is it possible that a wolf could have made these prints?”

The guards shared a look, and the rest of the staff seemed unconvinced.

Only one of the maids had her hand on her chin and was nodding. “My father is a hunter and taught me to recognize animal tracks,” she said shyly, blushing when all eyes fell on her. “I knew they were wolf tracks when I first saw them, but I didn’t say anything because I thought it would be impossible for a wolf to get in, so it wouldn’t make any sense for wolf tracks to be in the castle.”

Zelda stood and brushed her hands off on her skirt. “Well, then, mystery solved. The prints must have been made by a wolf.”

“But that makes no sense either,” the soldier interjected, despite a stern look from the lieutenant that clearly said he shouldn’t argue with the queen. “We stagger lunch breaks, so someone would have been on duty when the wolf snuck in and would have prevented it from entering.”

“Unless the wolf knew a secret entrance?” Zelda muttered under her breath. Clearing her throat, she waved her hand and said, “Well, regardless of how the wolf got in, it’s obvious that it’s not inside the castle anymore, so it’s not a problem anymore. However, these prints still need to be cleaned up before they dry.”

A chorus of “Yes, Your Majesties” filled the hallway as a handful of the staff went off to fetch cleaning supplies while the rest got down and started to clean up the mud with whatever rags and cloths they had on them. Satisfied that the mess would be taken care of, Zelda moved to leave. 

“Wait, Your Majesty!” The lieutenant called, stopping her. He sank to his knee, placing a hand over his heart and deeply bowing his head. The other soldier was quick to follow suit. “This mess was caused by our negligence as protectors of the castle, but rest assured that we will do everything we can to prevent something like this from happening again.”

Zelda inclined her head. “Thank you, lieutenant, but please, this was just an accident. Don’t feel like you have to take the blame.”

A look of relief washed over his face and he nodded. “Thank you, Your Majesty, as always you are too kind.”

Zelda smiled, but inwardly she was seething, and before she could be stopped again she turned on her heel and stormed off down the hallway to the gardens. When she found him, oh, she was going to have some words with him.

——

Zelda stepped out into the gardens, feeling the warm afternoon air swirl around her. She knew she should be going back to her office to finish her paperwork, but her indignation at the muddy paw print affair refused to leave her alone. She knew who had made the prints, and she wasn’t going to be satisfied until she gave him a piece of her mind.

She figured the gardens were the logical place to look for a wolf who wanted to avoid contact with humans. Today was the gardeners’ day off, and the guards only patrolled through the gardens in the morning and at night, so the only people that might stumble across a wolf would be passing servants, which was very unlikely since they mainly stayed inside.

The castle gardens were fairly straightforward, the flower beds and trees arranged neatly along the parallel cobblestone walkways, with iron benches here and there and the occasional lilypad filled pond. Normally Zelda would have taken her time strolling along the walkways, stopping at whatever sight caught her interest, listening to the birds chirping and relishing in the sunlight, but today she made a beeline for the focal point of the gardens: the large fountain located directly in the center.

The fountain had been around for ages and maintained by the groundskeepers, running all day during the spring and summer. It attracted many birds to its cool waters, occasionally a squirrel or two, along with any other animals that lingered around the castle; however today, those typical animals were nowhere in sight.

In their place was a large dusty gray wolf. 

Judging from the damp mud caked in his fur and clinging to his limbs, he looked as though he had spent a considerable amount of time rolling around in a swamp. Brightly colored leaves, small twigs, and an acorn here and there jutted out of the mud, giving him the appearance of a forest floor after a storm. That confirmed her suspicions, he was definitely the source of the paw prints in the hallway.

He stood on the rim of the fountain, poised to jump into the fountain.

Zelda only had seconds before he jumped in and ruined the fountain. She cupped her hands around her mouth, and with as much force as she could muster, she yelled, “STOP!”

The wolf, startled by the noise, whipped around, in the process losing his grip on the fountain and sliding off the rim. He landed with a grunt on the stone pathway below the fountain, dried bits of mud falling off from the impact.

She approached the fallen wolf, irritation and displeasure bubbling inside her. He quickly reoriented itself, standing with a soft whimper of pain, then he yelped when he saw her towering over him with a less than pleased expression.

“What do you think you’re doing?” She demanded.

The wolf wilted, ears flattening against his head as he looked around the area like he was searching for an escape route. 

She stood her ground, folding her arms. “I asked you a question, and you’re going to give me an answer.”

Finally the wolf gave up, obediently sitting on the ground in front of her. He still refused to meet her eyes. “I was going to get cleaned up,” he said meekly. “I figured the fountain would be the best place to wash up without scaring the staff.”

Zelda pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath to keep herself from saying things that would make a sailor look like a saint. If she didn’t want to lecture the life out of him she would have turned on her heel and marched back to her office. A mountain of paperwork was nothing compared to the mess standing in front of her.

“Link,” she started, very slowly to keep her temper in check, “you know that the fountain is painstakingly cleaned each day to keep it looking pristine, so why in Hylia’s name would you try to use it as your personal bath?!”

Link at least had the grace to look humbled. “I guess I didn’t think that through too well,” he said sheepishly.

She arched an eyebrow. “No, you definitely didn’t. I’m glad I managed to catch you in time. Cleaning up your mess would have taken the groundskeepers hours.” She reached down and plucked a red leaf from his fur, throwing it aside with a scoff. “Would you care to explain to me just why you are standing in my castle covered from head to toe in mud?”

“It’s a long story,” he said nervously.

She brushed dirt off of the fountain and took a seat on the edge, resting her hands in her lap and looking at him with an expectant, albeit frustrated, glare. “I have time.”

Link fidgeted for a moment before clearing his throat and beginning his story. “Uh, well, you know today is my day off, and I usually spend it in town, or going on rides with Epona, but today I wanted to explore a forested area I recently discovered, and I thought that it would be easiest in wolf form, since I could have the animals there show me around. So I transformed once I was safely outside the castle, and explored the forest with the animals’ help.” He looked down at his dirt matted fur. “As you can see it got a little wild.”

She bit back a sarcastic “a little?” and gestured for him to continue.

“It wasn’t until I was leaving the forest that I remembered that I can’t switch back to human form without help,” he said, wincing. “You’re the only person who knows about my ability to transform, so I snuck back into the castle through a secret passage and was going to clean up before I went to you to change me back.”

Zelda took a moment to process the information, tapping her fingers against her arm. His story made sense, even if his forgetfulness was uncharacteristic. He spoke with a note of sincere apology that made it hard to stay angry until she remembered the carpet.

“I believe you,” she said after a moment, and he let out a sigh of relief. She wasn’t quite ready to let him off the hook yet, though, and her eyes narrowed as she looked at him. “But did you have to tread mud through the castle?”

He grimaced. “Yeah, that was entirely my fault.”

“I know you meant no harm,” she said, shaking her head, “but despite your intentions, you threw members of the staff into a panic with your muddy tracks, and you had a few of your men worried that they’d somehow neglected their duties by letting a potentially dangerous animal into the castle. Not to mention the carpet will likely be stained forever.”

He lowered his head. “You’re right,” he said quietly. “I should have been more careful, and cleaned up before I came back.”

She nodded. “That would have been the smart thing to do. But what’s done is done, so there’s no point in wasting time wishing something else had happened, so just keep that in mind next time.” 

Link nodded meekly, and when Zelda was certain he’d learned his lesson she reached out to pat his head, then withdrew her hand when she remembered he was still filthy. 

“You still need to get cleaned up,” she said with a frown.

“I can always leave and go to the nearby river,” he suggested.

She shook her head. “You’re already here, and leaving would only increase your chances of getting captured. So you might as well wash up here. But where can you wash is the question. You can’t exactly head to your quarters and have someone prepare you a bath, and you certainly can’t use the garden fountains.” She paused, then an idea struck her, and she stood. “Wait here. I’ll be back.”

——

Link was laying on his belly near the fountain when Zelda returned, right where she’d left him. She was thankful he wasn’t affected by the strange impulses to chase squirrels and birds that other dogs had, otherwise he could have been halfway around the castle and scaring everybody in sight.

She had everything arranged. A maid was preparing a bath in her chambers, and all she needed was to get Link there without arousing too much suspicion. For that, she carried a large bundle of brown fabric in her arms. She set it down on the stone in front of him, unrolling the fabric into a square. He gave the fabric a strange look.

“What’s that for?” He asked.

“Lay down in the center, if you would,” she instructed. 

He did as he was told, plopping down in the approximate center, a cloud of dirt billowing off him with the movement. Just as she’d expected, the dirt blended in perfectly with the fabric. She took the corners of the fabric and wrapped them around him tightly like a wolf burrito, leaving his head sticking out. It was rather entertaining to see such a proud beast bundled up like a swaddled baby.

“May I ask what this is for?” He said, clearly unhappy with his new prison. 

She tucked the loose ends into the fabric and studied her work. It looked fairly leak proof. “So you don’t drip dirt and mud through the castle,” she said pointedly. “You’ve already ruined one carpet and I’m not letting you mess up a second. I’m going to carry you to my room, where a maid is preparing a bath, and I’ll help you wash up there.”

His eyes widened. “What?” He stuttered. “Your room?”

She ignored his exclamation. If he had any issues with cleaning up in her room, she didn’t particularly care; it was the only place he could wash up away from the staff’s prying eyes. 

She bent down and stuck her arms underneath his belly, holding onto him as she lifted him off the ground. He let out a little squawk at being picked up so suddenly. As far as adult male wolves went, he wasn’t as heavy as she’d expected and she was able to heft him with ease.

“You know,” she commented with a chuckle, “you’re surprisingly light.”

He looked up at her with a bemused expression. “You say that like you’re carrying a kitten and not an eighty pound wolf.”

She poked his side, prompting a yelp from him. “You weigh as much as a kitten,” she said, unable to resist grinning at him. “You’re all fur and bones.”

He ducked his head, seeming embarrassed by her comment. 

With Link in her arms, Zelda strolled down the walkway, heading back inside the castle. She was glad to be out of the hot sun, and chuckled wryly to herself as she realized she would probably need her own bath when this was all over. She felt she deserved it after the morning she was having.

The castle hallways were relatively empty, which she was grateful for. The last thing she wanted to do was be bombarded with questions by well-meaning staff. Her patience was running low. She wanted to get Link to her room, clean him up, then transform him back and send him away as quickly as she could so she could get back to her paperwork.

They were lucky they hadn’t passed by anyone yet, but their luck ran out when Zelda turned the corner into the hallway that led to her chambers and nearly ran right into her secretary. He was so startled he almost dropped the precariously large stack of papers in his arms, and looked at her with an expression that said he was trying to decide whether to lecture her for abandoning her work or ask her why she was carrying a wiggling brown bundle in her arms.

He went with the latter. “Your Majesty, good heavens,” he said, nervously adjusting his glasses as he studied Link. “What in Hylia’s name is that?” 

Link gave him his best puppy dog eyes, sticking out his tongue and acting innocent, but that only seemed to make him more nervous. He actually took a step back.

“Frederick, would you be a dear and let the lieutenant on duty at the eastern entrance that I caught the wolf?” Zelda asked sweetly. She didn’t even stop walking, and Frederick hurried to keep up with her. “He was worried about a wolf prowling the grounds. Just let him know that the wolf won’t be causing any more problems for us.”

Frederick’s mouth opened and closed several times. He was a reliable secretary, but he had an almost insatiable curiosity and her vague answer would be driving him crazy. He nodded slowly. “Er, yes, of course, Your Majesty. But you should really be working on your paperwork, not corralling animals—“

Zelda rolled her eyes and adjusted Link in her arms so she could wave Frederick away. “I know, I know,” she cut off, “‘time-sensitive documents’ and such. Don’t worry, Frederick, I’m going to take care of it.”

Frederick let out a long sigh, and she gave him a reassuring smile. “If you say so,” he said reluctantly. “I suppose I’ll go inform that lieutenant, then.” He spared one glance over his shoulder at her before hurrying away down the hallway.

When Frederick was out of view, she exhaled, shaking her head. “Thank Hylia,” she muttered, “I was worried he was going to try and get rid of you himself.”

“That probably wouldn’t have ended well,” Link said with a small chuckle. 

She pictured Frederick attempting to shoo Link down the hall, getting startled when Link moved even a hair closer towards him. “No, it absolutely wouldn’t,” she agreed. “He’s a wonderful assistant, just not the best with animals, I’m afraid.”

Zelda’s arms were beginning to ache and she was relieved when her bedroom door came into view. She wanted to put Link down as soon as she could. She quickened her pace and when she came to the door, she adjusted her hold on him, balancing him against her hip like she did with stacks of books so she could free a hand to open the door. It was awkward and she nearly dropped him but managed to get the door open and stumble inside without him falling.

Once inside, Link perked up, looking around her room with a curious expression. She absently noted that it was his first time being inside. As casual as she was with the staff, it was rare that anyone outside of her personal maids ever came in, especially men, since there were certain rules she had to follow about that kind of thing. 

The door that led to the bathroom was propped open and a maid‘s voice floated out through the opening, accompanied by the sound of rushing water. “Oh, Your Majesty, just in time,” she called brightly. “I just finished filling the tub for you.” 

“Thank you, Cheva,” Zelda replied, stepping into the bathroom. 

Cheva was sitting on the edge of the tub by the spout and gave the knob a quick twist to shut off the steaming water, which now filled half of the tub. She froze, her mouth falling open, when Zelda put Link down and began to peel the fabric off of him. “Sweet Nayru, my lady, what is that?” 

“The wolf that’s responsible for the mess by the eastern entrance,” Zelda said. The fabric was soiled in places where the mud on Link hadn’t dried, and a handful of leaves stuck to the fabric as well. It had been a good idea to wrap him up. She would have been so irritated if that mud had gotten all over the castle. “I’m getting him cleaned up so he doesn’t make another mess.”

Cheva looked at Link frightfully. “Are you sure you shouldn’t let the guards handle this?” She asked, concerned. “I don’t think Commander Link would want you being around such a dangerous animal, either.” Cheva jolted slightly when Link let out a low rumble.

Zelda resisted the urge to laugh. “I’ll be alright,” Zelda assured. She wadded up the fabric, careful to keep the mud on the inside, and held the bundle out to Cheva. “Will you take this and get it cleaned, please? I can handle things from here.”

Cheva, although she clearly had no idea what was going on, took the fabric without a word and hurried out of the bathroom.

Link looked relieved to finally be out of the fabric and took a minute to stretch his legs. Bits of dried mud fell off him, sprinkling over the tile flooring, but Zelda decided that was a problem for later. 

She dug around the vanity against the wall for a hair band and tied her hair up in a bun, then stuck her hand in the tub and tested the water. “Go ahead and get in,” she prompted. “It’s warm, but not too hot. I’m going to change into something better suited for cleaning, so give me a minute.”

Once he had climbed on top of a stool and lowered himself into the water, she went back to her bedroom and opened up her armoire. She pushed aside her array of fancy gowns until she found a simple dress in a similar style to the maids’ uniforms, with short cap sleeves and no unnecessary ornamentation, perfect for cleaning. With some awkwardness she reached behind her and undid the laces on her dress, quickly shedding it before slipping into the new dress and tying its laces. 

Zelda returned to the bathroom to find Link standing in neck deep brown water, a few leaves floating on the surface. It looked like a majority of the dirt had come of him, though it would take a few more rinses to get his fur back to its natural dark gray. She let out a sigh as she sat down on the stool and began picking leaves out of the water, collecting them in her lap when she realized there wasn’t a trash bin nearby. 

“You really got filthy,” she said, a note of amusement in her voice. Despite how careful she was being to keep her hands decently clean, already muddy water was getting underneath her nails. She frowned. “What exactly were you doing in the woods?”

“I, um, was chasing a group of squirrells,” he said, suddenly embarrassed. She had to quickly hide a laugh behind her hand. So he did act like a wild animal in wolf form when he was alone. “And they ran up a tree, and I tried to follow them up, but I’m not used to climbing in this form without help so I kinda fell.”

She raised an eyebrow as she picked out another leaf, using the leaf to vaguely gesture at him and the muddy bathwater. “Surely you can’t get this dirty just from falling out of a tree.”

If he could have blushed she suspected he might have, judging from the way his ears flattened against his head and the nervous laugh he let out. “Uh, well, I also played a game with some of the foxes, and it involved a lot of rolling around and running through patches of mud.”

She shook her head, unable to contain a small chuckle. “That sounds eventful. Alright, move over, I’m going to drain the tub.”

Link complied, scooting to one side of the tub, and Zelda took a deep breath before plunging her hand into the water. As much as she disliked getting her hands dirty, she couldn’t have anyone else do it without them asking some serious questions. She fumbled around the bottom of the tub for the drain and when her hand brushed metal she gave the stopper a firm tug, watching as the brown water began to swirl away. It took a minute for the water to drain, and when it was gone she noted the brown ring the water had left around the tub. Another mess to add to the list.

“It’ll take a few more rinses to get all the dirt out of you,” she said, giving his fur a quick once over. It was sopping wet but looking better. She plucked a twig out of the fur under his neck and added it to her pile. “But you’re looking better already.”

“It’s really generous of you to do this,” he said as she started the water again. “I mean, I did kind of ruin your carpet and scare the staff, but all you did was lecture me for a bit then wrap me up like a baby. I feel like you’re letting me off too easily.”

She arched an eyebrow and smirked. “Would you care for a much harsher punishment?” She asked sweetly. “I’m certain I could find something for you to do.”

The alarmed look he gave her in reply made her erupt in a fit of giggles.

“Oh, I’m just teasing,” she said, waving his worry aside. “Really. I trust that you learned your lesson and I know that this won’t happen again.” She paused. “This won’t happen again, right?”

He nodded firmly. 

“Good. Now, let’s finish getting you cleaned up.”

——

“Your fur is nice when it’s not caked in mud,” Zelda said, running her hand down Link’s back. She’d plugged the drain after emptying another batch of dirty water and was letting some warm water sit in the tub, internally debating if she should bother with soap and shampoo or not. He was looking much better now, now that his slick fur was back to its usual gray color and all the nature was out of it.

It dawned on her that until this point, she’d never felt his fur before. She hadn’t seen him as a wolf since the Twilight Invasion, and their meetings then had been in less than ideal situations, but a part of her had always wondered how soft his wolf body was. Now that she had a chance to comb her hands through it, she marvelled at how smooth it was, though since it was wet it wasn’t soft. When it dried she’d have to feel it for real.

“It’s good for cold temperatures,” Link said with a shrug, leaning into her touch when her hand travelled back up to his muzzle. At this point she was just petting him, but he didn’t seem to mind, he even seemed to like it. “But I get pretty sweaty when it’s warm. Win some, lose some, I guess.”

Now that her irritation was gone it was easy to find some humor in the situation. Here she was, the queen of Hyrule, giving a bath to her personal knight who could turn into a wolf. To anyone else, it would be absurd, but to her it was quite entertaining, the unlikeliness of it all. She knew many people who’d claim that washing a dirty animal was beneath her, and while she might have agreed with them a long time ago, she didn’t care as much anymore.

She decided that Link was rather cute as a wolf, the way his tongue would stick out when she scratched under his chin, or how his tag would wag and splash a little water when she scratched behind his ears. She was glad that they could have this little moment together. If he had returned to the castle as a dirty human, she would have just laughed and sent him to his own room to clean up.

Though, the thought of having human Link in her bath was strangely appealing… 

Her cheeks flushed with a warmth that coursed through the rest of her body. That wasn’t a train of thought she should indulge in, no matter how tempting it was to imagine wiping away streaks of dirt from his face with her thumb, or comb her fingers through his wet hair, or goddesses forbid run her hands over his bare chest—

Zelda gave her head a firm shake, banishing the very enticing thoughts from her mind. She’d been having thoughts like that more recently and while they weren’t entirely unwelcome, she really shouldn’t be thinking about him like that. 

Link noticed the movement and tilted his head. “Something wrong?” He asked. 

“Oh, it’s nothing,” she said idly, continuing to stroke his head. 

Her hand brushed against something sharp on his forehead and she paused. She thought she had gotten all the rocks and acorns out of his fur. She brushed away the fur, exposing a small black rock. It looked like it was embedded in his forehead. She’d have to pull it out.

“Hold on,” she said, her fingers curling around the rock, “this might hurt a bit.” 

His eyes widened in a look of panic. “Wait, Zelda, that’s—“

She gave the rock a firm tug and, much to her surprise, it emerged smoothly from his forehead. It was around the size of her index finger, though much thicker, and its surface was warped, glassy, and cool to the touch, quite strange for a rock. How had it been wedged in there without him being in any pain?

The answer came when a puff of black smoke swirled around Link, followed by a loud pop that made Zelda wince and cover her ears. The next thing she knew a very human Link was sitting in her bathtub. 

He was also very naked.

“—the Shadow Crystal,” he finished. “Yeah, uh, I was going to tell you about that. It’s what keeps me in wolf form.” He looked down at his body and his lips twisted into a confused frown, a bright blush spreading across his cheeks. “Except I usually have all my clothes when I transform back...”

Zelda blinked, her mind going blank. She could feel her face burning. She couldn’t decide whether to curse the goddesses or thank them for giving her this. As much as she needed to tear her gaze away from him and remain the perfect image of propriety and decency, both to give him privacy and to keep her own feelings in check, her eyes refused to budge, insistent that she take every second she could to relish in the sight. 

Link’s hair was getting longer, the ends reaching past the base of his neck, and surprisingly it retained some of its volume despite being thoroughly saturated, bits sticking out and up every which way like a bird’s nest. Two wet strands stuck to either side of his face, framing features she’d grown used to admiring from afar: beautiful ocean blue eyes, a nose dotted with faint freckles, lips that smiled so easily. Her eyes followed the curve of his jaw and her heart beat faster. She couldn’t remember how many times she’d daydreamed about kissing along it.

She knew, in the back of her mind, that this was dangerous. That this would end badly. She wasn’t supposed to let her emotions control her. She was supposed to keep them under control. But it seemed her heart was refusing to listen to her head today.

Her eyes, despite her protests, trailed down his neck, chasing after the water drops that streamed down his tan skin. She began to notice the pale scars on his body, little slivers here and there that grew into lines the length of her fingers around his collarbone and shoulders. More marks spread out across his arms; one particularly long line on his right arm started at the top of his bicep and trickled down to the elbow. 

On his back there were more crisscrossing lines, layered atop one another to create strange patterns, and his chest was no different. It even seemed to bear more grooves than his back. They raced up and down his tone muscles in parallel lines or curved at odd jagged angles, like they had been made by a blind chef attempting to dissect a cucco. Her breath caught in her throat as she studied them. They told a story of hardship that made her heart ache.

She badly wanted to reach out and touch the scars, run her fingers and lips along them until she’d memorized every one of them. There were stories behind each one that she had a sudden craving to hear, a desire to know what kind of trials he had faced that was so strong she nearly gave in to it.

But now was neither the time nor the place for that. Her mind snapped back to reality when her curiosity tempted her eyes down lower, and she put her foot down on her heart. She was making him uncomfortable, scrutinizing him like that, not to mention she did not need to give her imagination more material to work with.

“I’m sorry,” Zelda managed to say, feeling her blush come back with full force. Why was her heart beating so fast? “I didn’t realize…”

“It was an accident,” Link said quickly. If he was bothered by her staring at his scars he didn’t say anything. “But, uh, could I please have the crystal back?”

She swallowed and handed the crystal back to him. It was for the best that he changed back, as much as she loathed to see his human body gone. He put the crystal up to his forehead and a cloud of smoke swirled around him, followed by the sharp pop, before he was back in wolf form. 

He let out a relieved sigh and looked down at his fur. “That’s better,” he said. “You kinda caught me off guard there. I didn’t think you’d actually pull it out.”

“That was rather rude of me, wasn’t it?” She agreed with a self deprecating chuckle. “I should have realized what I was doing.”

He flashed her a reassuring grin. “Hey, no harm done. Let’s just forget that happened.”

She nodded, though she had a feeling she probably wouldn’t. “Right. I think you’re all clean now, so let’s get you dried off.”

Zelda pulled out the drain while Link hopped out, puddles forming around his feet as water dripped from his fur. He gave his body a solid shake and water droplets flew off of him, spraying across the room and staining little circles on the furniture. More than a few splashed onto her, and she shot him a baleful look. 

“I have towels,” she said with a sigh, looking at the spots on her dress with disdain. “Does everything about etiquette leave you when you’re in that form? Honestly.”

He sat meekly when she walked over with a towel and held still while she rubbed it on him, absorbing the last drops of moisture his fur retained. His fur fluffed up in the process, making him look like a furball with legs, and she was finally able to run her hands through it. It was warm and soft, much softer than anything else in the castle. It was thick, too, and no matter how deeply she dug her hands into it there was always more.

Without a second thought she rested her head on his back. His fur tickled her cheeks and nose, but his body was so warm. The feeling was like laying on a rug in front of a fireplace. She sighed contentedly as her body relaxed.

“Mmm, so soft,” she said, stroking his belly fur for emphasis. “It feels like it’s made of clouds.”

“I’m pretty sure clouds are made of water,” he said. 

She huffed. “Just let me have this. I’ve had a long day and I deserve a break.”

“It’s not even five o’clock yet.”

“Hush, you.” She nuzzled her nose into his fur. “You are a good pillow. Maybe I’ll replace the ones on my bed with you.”

“As much as I would love to be your personal pillow,” he said with a chuckle, “I don’t think that would slide with your advisors.”

“Probably not,” she conceded. “But I still think it would be funny.” 

Zelda laid against Link for another minute, feeling his heartbeat through his fur. If she wasn’t careful she might fall asleep like that, not that she minded too much. He really was rather comfortable.

She gave him one last fond pet and stood up, brushing herself off. “Alright, let’s go to your room and change you back there.”

He nodded and she scooped him up again, leaving her bedroom and heading to the soldier’s wing.

**Author's Note:**

> help writing wolf link shenanigans is far too much fun
> 
> Thanks for reading :D


End file.
